TURKISH CAMPAIGN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 133, 7 June 1915, Page 7

TURKISH CAMPAIGN

THE HEIGHTS OP KRITHIA TAKEN BY THE AUSTRAL^ ASIANS. TWELVE HOURS' VIOLENT BATTLE. LONDON, sth June. A combined general assault on the Turkish positions at Gallipoli has begun. •ATHENS, 6th June. The Turks on Monday vigorously attacked the Australasians on the heights of Krithia. A Violent battle lasted twelve hours. After an Australasian counter-attack the Turks abandoned the summit. 'The Australasians' victory consolidated the Allies' position on the Peninsula. The Turkish casualties were 10,000. The Turks obtained a twelve hours' armistice to bury their dead. The High Commissioner reports :— LONDON. 6th June. 5.15 a.m. A report from Athens says that the Patris announces that a, victory was obtained by the Australasians last Monday on the heights of Krithia, after a violent battle lasting twelve hours. NIGHT ATTACKS CONTINUE AUSTRALIAN POSITION IMPREG- i , NABLE. ' j TENEDOS, 6th June. Night attacks on the Australian trenches continue, but in the daytime, apart from shrapnel five, the enemy's main activity is confined to cleverlyconcealed snipers. The Australian, position is impregnable, j They have dug themselves in, much ! I against their own inclination, but they 1 have resigned themselves to trench warfare. The enemy maintains at night time a j constant aimless fusillade, with the intention,^ presumably, of forestalling any advance on our part. Parties of snipers crawl past the British *and French lines, hide in trees or empty Frenches, and snipe at isolated officers. They rob those who are shot. Seme have been caught with their pockets full o^f British and French money. THE BRITISH CENTRE TWO LINES OF TURKISH TRENCHES OCCUPIED. A FRENCH CAPTURE. (Received June 7, 9 a.m.) ' PARIS, 6th June. Official : The Allies on Friday last attacked along the entire front with, the object of taking certain points d'appui. The British centre occupied two lines of Turkish trenches along a front of 44Q yards. The First French Division* captured- tho first line of the enemy's trenches opposite tli^m. _ Tho fleet throughout assisted effectively. The enemy's losses were very high. Ten oflicers and several hundred men were captured, including six German sailors. Our artillery throughout dominated the enemy's,. t We easily repulsed two Turkish counter-attacks on Friday night. LAST WEEK'S FIGHTING AN ADVANCE IN THE CENTRE. SIR, IAN HAMILTON'S REPORT. The Minister for Defence {Hop. James Allen) on Sunday evening received the following communication from Sit lan Hamilton dated Tenedos, sth June, 3.50. p.mf. — "On the night of 3rd and 4t!t June the Turks, having heavily bombarded a small' fovt which the French had captured in front of their extreme right, and 'breached it in the north-east angle, launched -au infantry attack against it, which was repulsed. About the same time they set fire to scrub in front of the left centre of the 29th Division and attacked, but without success. "On the morning of the 4th instant I made a general attack on the Turkish trenches in the southern area of the commencing with* a heavy bombardment by all the guns, including two battleships, two cruisers, and several destroyers, with four-inch guns. On the cessation of the bombardment, ,the troops rushed forward with the bayonet and were immediately successful all along the line, except in one spot near the left, where the heavy entanglement had not been destroyed by gun fire. "The 6th .Ghurkas, on the extreme left, made a fine advance and took two lines of trenches, but owing to the regi,in<jut on their right being hung up by this /wire, they were eventually obliged to retire again to their original trenches. The 29th Division made good progress in the left centre, capturing a strong redoubt and two lines of trenches beyond it. about 500 yards in advance of their Original line. "The Territorials in the .centre did brilliantly, advancing 600 yards and capturing three lines of trenches, but though the most advanced captured trench was held all day and half the night, they had to be ordered back in the morning to the second captured line, as both their flauks > were exposed. "The naval division on* the right Centre captured a redoubt, and a formidable line of trenches constructed in three tiers, some 300 yards to their front, but were so heavily enfiladed when the French retired that they also had to come back to their original line. •' The French 2nd division advanced with gallantry and elan and retook, for the fourth time, that deadly redoubt they call 'The Haricot.' Unfortunately, the Turks developed heavy counter-attacks through prepared communication trenches, and. under cover of accurate shell fire, were able to recapture it. " On th'i extreme right of the French line the French division captured a line of trenches which, though counterattacked twice during the night, they still hold. I have not yet heard details of the casualties, but I am afraid they ate considerable. ■ " We captured 400 prisoners, including 10' officers. • Amongst the prisoners were five Germans, the remains of a volunteer machine-gun detachment from the Gocben, whoso officer was killed and machine-gun destroyed. " During the progress of the fight I received information from Anzac thai enemy reinforcements had been seen advancing from Maidos towards Klithia. Consequently, General Birdwood arranged to attack the trenches in front of Quinn's Post at 10 p.m., which attack was successfully carried out and the trenches held during the night. Tho Turki&h casualties were heavy. "At 6.30 p.m.. however, the enemy heavily counter-attacked and bombed om men out of the captured trench, .with a new heavy description of bomb, though we still hold the communica-

ting trenches, which had been constructed during the night. "To sum up, a good advance of at least 500 yards, including two lines of Turkish trpnehes. has been made along a front of nearly three miles in the centre of our southern section, but we arc back to our original right and left, and arc making fresh efforts now to advance the left to bring it up into line with the centre, though the Turkish position theuv is extraordinarily strong naturally, with a, deep ravine on one side and the sea on tha other.— (Sgd.) lan Hamilton."'